Commercial Director

Overview

Senior Commercial Leadership | FMCG / Manufacturing | Hybrid (Remote with Belfast presence)

£70,000 £ 75,000 + Bonus + Car/Allowance

Derventio

UK is recruiting on behalf of a fast-growing UK manufacturer transitioning from contract production into multi-channel brand ownership and distribution. This is a pivotal strategic hire designed to unlock the next phase of growth. This is not a maintenance role. It is a scale-up opportunity. The business is targeting revenue growth from circa £3m to £710m over the next 35 years, diversifying into wellness, personal care and contract bottling while strengthening pricing discipline, margin performance and commercial forecasting.

If you are a commercially driven leader who thrives in SME environments and enjoys building structured growth engines, this could be the opportunity to shape a companys next chapter.

Commercial Director

You will take full ownership of the commercial function, with P&L accountability and responsibility for driving sustainable, profitable growth.

• Develop a credible 3-year commercial growth strategy
• Implement structured account segmentation and pricing architecture
• Deliver measurable gross margin improvement
• Strengthen UK, Ireland and selected EU pipelines
• Embed structured forecasting integrated with operations

This role is central to revenue growth and strategic scaling.

• Lead all major pricing negotiations, contracts, rebates and margin structures
• Own revenue forecasting and budgeting
• Improve gross margin through structured commercial discipline
• Optimise account mix and eliminate low-contribution SKUs
• Structure volume-based rebate and pricing models
• Manage regulatory and excise cost pass-through

• Revenue growth (mid double-digit in early phase)
• Gross margin uplift
• Forecast accuracy
• New account acquisition
• Account retention
• Working capital impact

You will manage a commercial team of 6, including marketing, account management, business development, procurement and systems. This is a hybrid strategic and hands-on role. You must be capable of high-level planning while personally leading key negotiations. The culture rewards ownership, data-led decision-making and accountability.

Location:

Primarily remote with required presence in Belfast every few weeks.

This role requires strong commercial DNA.

You Will Accelerate Growth Across

• Own brand portfolio
• Contract manufacturing
• Retail distribution
• Export markets
• Wellness and personal care sectors
• Private label / contract bottling

Year one split is roughly 50% account growth and 50% new business development, becoming increasingly strategic over time.

• Established manufacturer with strong technical and regulatory credibility
• Transitioning into brand ownership and expanded distribution
• Clear growth runway
• Direct board exposure
• Genuine strategic influence
• Potential long-term equity upside

This is an SME environment agile, ambitious and execution-focused.

Essential Experience

• Senior commercial leadership background
• Full P&L accountability
• Strong negotiation and contract structuring capability
• Proven revenue scaling within SME environments
• Demonstrable margin improvement track record

Desirable

• FMCG / Consumer Goods / Manufacturing
• Regulated sectors
• Retail distribution exposure
• International markets

• CRM discipline
• ERP familiarity (Unleashed or similar advantageous)
• Advanced Excel and forecasting
• Data-driven commercial decision-making

• Confident decision-maker
• Direct communicator
• Commercially competitive
• Comfortable with ambiguity
• High ownership mentality

• £70,000 basic salary
• Up to £75,000 for exceptional candidates
• Performance bonus (10–20% linked to revenue and margin)
• Potential commission overlay for significant new wins
• Company car or allowance
• Pension and standard senior benefits
• Hybrid working

There is potential progression to full board-level Commercial Director with equity participation for the right individual.

• 23 stage process

• Pure corporate managers lacking SME execution
• Individuals without deep negotiation experience
• Candidates unable to evidence margin improvement

If you are an experienced Commercial Leader ready to scale revenue, professionalise commercial processes and drive margin growth within an ambitious manufacturing business, we would welcome your application. For a confidential discussion, please contact Derventio

UK and post your CV for consideration.